The suspected coordinated explosions of portable radio receivers in Lebanon, which have injured thousands and killed nine, are fueling fears of a wider war between Israel and Hezbollah. According to media reports, the pagers were likely rigged with explosives by Israeli agents. Many came from a shipment to Hezbollah from Taiwan that Israeli intelligence apparently intercepted before they arrived.
About 2,750 people were injured and nine were killed in the simultaneous explosion of hundreds of pagers in Lebanon on Tuesday. Many of the injured were Hezbollah fighters, including members of the elite Radwan force. The pro-Iranian Shiite militia blamed Israel and vowed retaliation. Lebanese parliamentary leader Nabih Berri, who is an ally of Hezbollah, called it a “massacre and a war crime by Israel.” In memory of the victims of the incidents and in protest, schools and universities in Lebanon remained closed on Wednesday.
Media report: Sections of militia paralysed after attack
According to information from the American news portal Axios, the explosions also paralyzed a significant part of Hezbollah’s military command and control system. The attack, carried out by Israel, was aimed at disrupting the powerful militia and creating a feeling within its ranks that it had been fully penetrated by Israeli intelligence, Axios reported, citing an unidentified source. The United States, Israel’s main ally, was not involved and therefore had no prior knowledge of such an action, a spokesman for the US State Department said.
Iran offers support to Lebanon
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the explosions a “terrorist act” and blamed Israel. The Islamic Republic of Iran is a key ally of the Hezbollah militia, both of which deny the Jewish state its right to exist. Araghchi offered condolences to his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib and offered Iran’s support.
The radio receivers in Lebanon were detonated just hours after a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet. The cabinet had declared the return of Israeli civilians who had fled the army’s fighting with Hezbollah to their homes in the north of the country as one of its war goals – along with the liberation of hostages in the embattled Gaza Strip and the destruction of the Islamist terror group Hamas, which is an ally of Hezbollah.
Source: Krone
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